


Deux Petits Singes

by SadaVeniren



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Friends to Lovers, Idiots in Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-01
Updated: 2016-06-01
Packaged: 2018-07-11 14:37:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7056538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SadaVeniren/pseuds/SadaVeniren
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Paris. The City of Light. The City of Love. But mostly the city where Harry is spending two weeks for his French class. He has big plans for this trip, and he just hopes that it lives up to his expectations.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Deux Petits Singes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Waterproofbabyvamp](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Waterproofbabyvamp/gifts).



> Hello! I hope you enjoy this fic and that it was something close to what you wanted :) I know you wanted high school but I upped them to uni age for a bit more realistic freedom.
> 
> Special thanks to Asha for betaing this for me last minute!! You're the best and me and my run-on sentences don't deserve you.

One day Harry would sleep through a whole night without being woken up by drunken hall mates, slamming doors, bitter one night stands, or a best friend whose idea of waking him up was to jump on the bed and sing at the top of his lungs.

“Cinq petits singes sautant sur le lit! Un s' cogna la tête sur l' tapis! Aïe!! Maman appell' l' docteur et le docteur dit!! PLUS DE SINGES SAUTANT SUR LE LIT!”

The final line of the nursery rhyme was punctuated by said best friend aggressively jumping up and down, slamming his feet into the mattress. He thankfully missed Harry’s legs, for now, but since he continued to jump as he started up the next line Harry knew it wouldn’t be long before they were caught in the crossfire.

“Quatre petits singes sautant sur le lit! Un s' cogna la tête sur l' tapis! Aïe! Je dit aïe tu connard!!”

Harry tucked his legs closer to his body, hoping to hold off the inevitable collision. Which apparently was not meant to happen. In moving his legs he moved part of the blanket over him, and they must have got caught up in his friend’s feet because the next thing Harry heard was the cut off “plus de singes-” and then an, “Oh, merde.”

The resulting crash and bang just made Harry thankful there weren’t that many people left in the building, let alone his own flat. He cracked an eye open and looked over the edge of his bed to see the damage.

“You alive down there, Lou?”

Louis, best friend and little monkey extraordinaire, was laid flat on his back, skull thankfully not split open from the fall. Harry saw his arms twitch so paralysis was out of the question too, allowing Harry to breathe a sigh of relief.

Louis mumbled something but Harry couldn’t understand what he was saying. Unlike Louis he was only marginally conversational in French and so trying to translate spoken phrases at ridiculous-o’clock was almost impossible.

“Lou, what are you saying? I don’t have the brainpower right now.”

Louis cracked an eye open and grinned at him before launching into more French that Harry could only vaguely translate.

He threw a pillow at him in retaliation. “This is why when monkeys fall off the bed they crack their heads.”

Louis was still smiling as he pulled the pillow off his face and this time when he spoke it was in English. “That’s how you repay me? I don’t have to wake you up everyday for class you know. It’s out of the kindness of my heart that I do. But see if next term I do that for you.” He gave an exaggerated sniff that had Harry rolling his eyes.

“You should have read theatre. Your acting chops are wasting away behind all that crappy French literature.”

The pillow made its return to Harry’s bed by way of Louis throwing it in his face. “I saw you reading Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea last month and if you studied more I’d let you borrow me ‘crappy’ copy in the _original language_.”

“You’re so pretentious,” Harry said as he finally let himself throw off his covers. He was thankful for Louis waking him up. He was thankful for a lot of things regarding Louis, actually. Louis had been the person to save him from drowning his first semester, metaphorically of course.

Louis was the TA for his French 101 class, but he had quickly worked his way into the position of best friend. This was mostly due to talking Harry through the crisis that was dropping law to read a much more realistic and enjoyable early childhood development and psychology. Louis had been the one to assure him there was no shame in pursuing a career he actually enjoyed instead of wasting his time with something he didn’t. 

Bridge built between the two of them, they became inseparable. It turned out they had eerily similar senses of humor, tastes in movies, and even music. They both loved trying new foods, which led to many nights cooking some truly weird shit in the kitchen of Louis’ tiny flat. It was easy to be best friends with Louis because they understood each other. Which meant that when Harry said, “You’re so pretentious,” Louis just beamed like the sun and threw his jeans at him.

“Thanks, mon petit chou. I love you too. Now get dressed, van leaves in forty minutes. You’re all packed right? Should hope so, if I’m packed you will be. My stuff is in the common room downstairs, figure no one can filch it if no one’s here.”

Harry pointed in the direction of his carry-on travel bag and Louis clapped his hands, mock impressed. “Finished last night after you dropped me off,” Harry said.

As Harry dressed Louis began to list off essential items they would both need. It turned out that Harry had forgotten his tablet charger and socks so it was a good thing Louis had gone over the list. Once he was dressed he grabbed his two bags, including his camera bag that would probably double as his purse throughout the trip and smiled at Louis. “Ready to go?”

“You’re not even gonna brush your teeth? Disgusting uni habits, Harold.” Louis took a small bottle of mouthwash out of his pocket and threw it at Harry’s head. “At least tell me you’ve showered in the last two days.” Harry was too busy swirling mouthwash around to give a verbal response but he held a thumbs up since he _had_ showered last night, thank you very much. “Thank god, since I’m stuck sitting beside you on the flight.”

Harry spit out the mouthwash and flipped him off. “You act like that’s such a hardship.”

“If you hadn’t showered it would be. And don’t think swimming in your cologne would help either.”

“Hey, you like my cologne.”

“Not when it’s covering up man smell I don’t. God, for a gay man you do an amazing impression of a heterosexual. Next you’re gonna be wearing Axe like a real lad and I’ll have to strangle first you, and then myself, because you’ve subjected me to that shit.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Drama queen.”

Louis reached up to flick his ear, and Harry only just dodged it. “Come on, mon petit chou. Paris awaits!”

Harry grinned and smacked a loud, wet kiss on Louis’ cheek. “Allez-y!!”

“It’s _allons-y_!”

“I know, I just like keeping you on your toes.” He gave Louis another kiss, this one closer to a peck before shuffling off to grab his suitcase. “Allons-y!”

“You’re ridiculous.”

***

Madame Roussel was manning the entrance of the van, clipboard in hand. They had a small class going this year, only 18 students in total. Louis was technically supposed to stand in as the second “adult” on the trip since he was her TA, but Louis had confided in Harry that he probably wasn’t expected to do much.

“Ah! Monsieur Louis!” Madame Roussel called when she spotted him. “And Monsieur Harry!” She gave Louis air kisses when he reached her before launching off in a spiel of French. Harry still couldn’t keep up, but Louis just nodded as he took the clipboard from her, surveying the small group of students already there.

Harry zoned out as Louis began doing roll call because it wasn’t like Louis didn’t already know he was there. He didn’t need to listen to Louis shout for Eve five times, and then start making puns about how they were going to “leave Eve,” when he could sway gently on his feet waiting to be allowed on the bus.

“Monsieur Harry!” Madame Roussel’s voice cut through his haze and he snapped out of it just in time to catch her halfway through her next sentence.

“What?”

He heard Louis snort from beside him and quickly realized his mistake. The thing about Madame Roussel was she believed the best way to learn French was to constantly speak it, and therefore used minimal English in her lessons. Harry had learned more in his two semesters with her than he had during secondary and college just because of the constant use of French. But it still wasn’t always instinct and slipping up around Madame Roussel always led to a lecture.

“Les valises,” she repeated herself, the time restraints they were under probably saving him for now from her lecture. Harry’s stuttered brain translation was aided by her pointing towards the suitcases. “Le van,” her finger swung to the open undercarriage of the van.

“Oh! Ah, oui, oui. Désolé, Madame.” He almost tripped over himself as he went to start loading up the suitcases. He could hear Louis’ laugh from behind him and he waited until Madame Roussel’s back was turn before he flipped him off.

Louis had no such qualms and returned the gesture just as Madame Roussel turned back around to catch him. They traded quips as Harry continued to load up the van, one of the other students from Louis’ level of French coming to Harry’s aid. Together the two of them got all the suitcases boarded in record time, and a full minute before Madame Roussel even bothered to check on them.

“Bien! Merci beaucoup, Monsieur Harry, Monsieur Andrew.” They both muttered that it was no problem as Madame Roussel checked her phone for the time and clapped her hand. Harry guessed from context clues that she was ordering everyone onto the bus but he lingered beside Louis. Sure he knew his classmates, but they weren’t Louis.

Once everyone was loaded except for the three of them Madame Roussel turned and ushered them on to the bus with a snappish, “Vite, vite!”

They were off, and Harry was suddenly hit with exactly what that meant. He was going to be seeing some of the most famous sights in Europe, eating delicious cuisine, taking artsy pictures in the most romantic city in the world, all while with one of his favorite people in the world. Louis had promised him he’d make this the best experience of Harry’s life and Harry believed him. They had a little under two weeks to explore everything in a mix of pre-planned tours and free time. Harry had filled up that free time with even more plans of things he wanted to see. Sure, Louis had rolled his eyes when he saw that Harry had marked their last day with a giant “Disneyland Paris!” but he still hadn’t said “no” which meant they were going. And that was all that mattered.

***

There was no reason to even try to sleep on the flight over, but even if it had been longer Harry was pretty positive he wouldn’t be able to. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been on a plane before, he’d gone to Greece once with his family on holiday, but that didn’t stop him from being over excited.

“Lou! Lou! Look I think I see the city!” Harry said peering out the window and snapping pictures of what looked like a city underneath them.

“Mon petit chou, we haven’t even crossed water yet, that’s an English city.”

Harry pouted, but slowly lowered his camera. “I didn’t say it wasn’t,” though maybe he had been too excited and definitely thought it had been Paris. They had to have been in the air long enough to get there by now. Or at least it felt like they had. He turned away from the window to look at Louis. Before he could think better of it he’d raised his camera up and taken a picture of him. Louis didn’t seem surprised, just turned his head so he was looking at Harry.

“Get me good side at least.”

Harry obliged him and snapped another picture. When he looked at the preview image, Louis with his eyes hooded and his face soft, he was struck not for the first time by how gorgeous his best friend was. Before he could let himself focus on that thought for too long he was interrupted by Louis leaning over him to look at the preview.

“Damn I’m good looking,” Louis said. “Gonna make that my profile pic. You take great pics.”

Harry frowned as he looked at the picture. “I thought we could do like matching profile pics? Maybe at the Eiffel Tower.”

“Cliché much.”

“It’s one of the most famous statues in the western world.”

“Doesn’t stop it from being cliché to take your picture in front of it and post it to your Facebook. There are tons of other buildings. We could do Notre-Dame, or that damn Disneyland entrance you’re going to drag me to.”

That suddenly lifted Harry’s spirits. “Will you wear Mickey ears?”

Louis let out an exaggerated sigh. “I suppose, if I must. You’ll be wearing Minnie ears.”

“Pink bow and everything.”

“Good. Pink is a good color on you.” He emphasized this by pinching Harry’s pale pink plaid shirt.

“Everything is a good color on me.”

Harry had to stop himself from flushing when Louis gave him a slow look up and down. “I suppose,” he dragged the word out until his eyes locked onto Harry’s lips. “Didn’t particularly like the black you wore on your lips that one time. Really washed you out.”

Harry’s mouth was suddenly incredibly dry and he had to swallow to try and get some moisture back. “Well-” his voice cracked just a little, which wow embarrassing. That hadn’t happened since he was a younger teenager. “That was for the theme. Gothic literature and all.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “Yes, I do remember the theme of that particular party. Doesn’t change the fact that you didn’t look your best. _I_ on the other hand looked immaculate.”

“Well that’s not hard. You must show me your ways sometimes.”

“Well for starters, I’d unbutton that button-up by about three,” Louis said and then reached over and did just that. Harry was too shocked to actually do anything in retaliation. He just sat there frozen while Louis undid his top two buttons, pursed his lips as he checked… something out and then undid the third. “There. Much better.”

Harry glanced down at his bared chest. There wasn’t any hair because he couldn’t seem to grow hair anywhere except on his head, so it was just pale skin that was exposed. With how low Louis had opened his shirt his nipples were one breeze away from showing. Harry didn’t know how he felt about it but then he saw Louis’ satisfied smile and well, it wasn’t really that much of a hardship to keep his shirt undone.

“Oh look, we’re crossing the channel,” Louis said invading his space to look out the window. 

Harry’s head snapped to the side and he lifted his camera up to begin taking pictures. He must have taken almost twenty photos, twisting around to try and get a shot of the disappearing English coast before he realized Louis was still pressed against him, looking out the window. He grinned as he took another picture of Louis. “Thought you weren’t that excited about seeing water.”

Louis smacked his thigh. “I’m just excited for you. Now keep taking pics, we’ll be coming up on the French coast soon and if I remember it looks particularly artsy in this light.”

He might have been teasing but Harry didn’t care. He was just happy to be here with Louis.

***

They only stopped in the dorms they’d be staying in long enough to drop their bags off. Madame Roussel had them on a tight schedule the first couple days, making sure they saw the sights she wanted them to, which would no doubt be required in an essay or presentation at some point.

“This is a _school_ trip after all,” Harry muttered to himself, as he checked that his camera bag had everything he needed. He had his wallet tucked in there, and his phone - since it was essentially a brick once he turned off the data roaming - and he put his passport in there just in case. Wouldn’t do to lose that after all. He turned excitedly to Louis who was laid out on the bed he had claimed as his. “Lou, do you think I'm forgetting anything?”

Louis didn’t open either of his eyes before he answered. “Do you have a water bottle? Madame Roussel is pretty strict about not wandering off the first couple of days so if you get thirsty you’ll have to wait instead of popping into a corner store. By mid-day Friday she’ll have drunk enough French wine that we’ll be able to do whatever we want, but until then…”

Harry laughed. “Noted. Are you excited?”

“Does it sound bad if I say no?”

“Yes. Lou! It’s the Eiffel Tower.”

“I mean, if you’ve been once you’ve been all you need. The park around it isn’t even that nice; it’s usually full of tourists.”

“You’re kidding me, right? Are you gonna tell me next that Hyde Park isn’t that nice cause it’s full of tourists?”

Louis let out a huff and sat up. “Sorry, Haz. I’ve just done this part of the trip twice already, on top of when I did my summer in Paris last year. I’m looking forward to the other parts of the trip more. So it’s just kinda _blah_ for me.”

“I guess I can understand that. A little. But Lou! It’s so beautiful! And it’s Paris! There’s no need to get cynical.”

“Very true, mon petit chou.” He stood up and pressed a kiss to Harry’s forehead. “Let’s go see Paris, alright?”

***

Champs de Mars was _beautiful_. Getting there via the metro was a whole other adventure considering they were a group of 19, but they made it from the dorm to there without losing anyone. Louis whispered to him on the walk from the station that that wasn’t always the case.

“My first year we got separated when half of us got on one train and the other half got left on the platform, which would have been fine, except the group that got left behind decided they _had_ to get on the next train, even if it was going the absolute other direction. We ended up not meeting up until that night when they showed up back at the dorms after taking four taxis to transport them all.”

Harry covered his mouth so his laugh didn’t disturb the tour Madame Roussel was giving them. “That’s crazy. Were you part of the group who got left behind or did you catch the train?”

“I caught the train, naturally. If I’d been with the other group they would have stayed right there, or at least caught the right train to meet up with everyone. On one of our days off I’ll just take you on a variety of metro lines so you get the hang of it.”

“Think I’ll need to know how to get around Paris?”

Louis shrugged. “I mean there’s a seventy-five percent chance I’ll be living here in a couple years. You know I’m going to Lyon at the end of June, and I’m sure I’ll like it just fine, but I think I’ll end up in Paris because of the universities.”

Harry’s mind skipped over the subtext that Louis was trying to tell him and the only thing he could think to say was, “I can’t move to France!”

If he was expecting Louis to laugh at his conclusion he was sorely disappointed because all Louis did was throw his arm over Harry’s shoulder and say, “If it’s the language thing just practice harder. And full immersion really does help. I was shit at one point too.” He dropped his arm as the group came to a stop at the edge of the park by the street. Right in front of Harry was the Eiffel Tower but he couldn’t take his eyes away from Louis. “And I wasn’t asking you to move to Paris with me. We should take it slow after all. A couple visits first to get used to each other.” He winked just as Madame Roussel whistled.

“We’re going to cross the street now. We will spend thirty minutes here before walking down to La Seine where we have a boat tour scheduled. You are welcome to ascend the tower but as you only have a limited time I’d suggest holding off. Please stay on that side of the street. We will meet back at this crosswalk in thirty minutes.”

Harry waited until she dismissed them and then he took out his camera to take a couple of pictures before crossing the street. Louis had been a decent distraction as he should have been snapping pictures the whole time they were walking through the park. He’d have gotten a better angle of the tower.

“You know if you want a picture you can always buy a postcard. It’ll cost you less than a quid,” Louis said from beside him.

“You don’t understand art.”

“Oh excuse me, Mr. Child Psychology, I forgot that camera makes you a Certified Artist. Come on mon petit chou, let’s cross the street so you can like… touch the tower or something.”

Harry went happily, snapping pictures as he did. There were tons of tourists around him, speaking a sea of languages he definitely didn’t recognize, but it didn’t bother him the way it seemed to bother Louis. He was too caught up in the excitement of it all. For example he was currently standing _under_ the towers looking up. How cool was that?

Harry dropped his bag to the ground as he changed the angle of his camera. People were milling all around taking pictures as well, and there was something so serene about the constant clicking of the camera’s shutter.

After he was done with pictures he let himself actually look around outside the lens of the camera. He took a deep breath, soaking up the atmosphere. It wasn’t until he turned around to head back to where his bag was that it hit him. His bag. _His bag wasn’t there._

His head shot up from the ground to look around and see if maybe he hadn’t remembered where he’d put it but no, it wasn’t there. Unbidden tears started to come to his eyes and he did the only thing he could.

“Louis!” 

Except Louis wasn’t around. He must have wandered off at some point while Harry was taking pictures, which rude, but it left Harry in an awful position. His bag was gone and he didn’t know where Louis, or anyone in his class, was. What was he going to do? Everything important was in that bag. His wallet, his phone, _his passport_! He was going to be stuck in France while everyone left!

He was going to panic.

He was starting to panic.

This was bad. So bad.

He knew he needed to pull himself together and… report this to the cops. And Madame Roussel. And find Louis.

He was in the middle of sucking in meditative breaths trying to push back the panic attack he was on the verge of when there was a hand on his shoulder. He jumped and turned to see Louis standing in front of him, his camera bag on his shoulder and the other hand holding the scruff of a teenage boy.

“Looking for this?” Louis asked, indicating his bag. A fresh wave of tears came over him, this time in relief and he just nodded as he took the bag from Louis. “Check to make sure everything is in there before I let this one go.”

Harry turned his attention to the boy. “He took it?”

The boy didn’t look particularly apologetic until Louis gave him a hard shake and snapped something in French. Then he said a quick, “Désolé.”

Harry stared at the boy for a beat longer before he opened up his bag and checked to make sure everything was there. Once he was sure it was he let Louis know, who gave the kid a hard shove away and another snappish comment in French before he let him run off.

“Thank you so much Louis. I didn’t even realize it had been taken.”

“I know,” Louis said, voice soft. “You shouldn’t leave your bag unattended. It’s not like back at uni. And unfortunately a lot of the tourist attractions are crowded with pick pockets. Can’t give them easy targets.”

Harry shook his head. He wasn’t crying anymore but he was still feeling the effects of the rollercoaster of emotions he just went through. “My passport was in here. My wallet was in here, and my phone. I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost those.”

Louis’ arms found their way around him and Harry sank into the embrace. “Look on the bright side, you would have had your camera still.” Harry burst into tears again and Louis held him through it. “Ssh, ssh mon petit chou. It’s okay. I shouldn’t be making jokes right now.”

“No, no it’s fine, I’m just really worked up. I looked down and my bag was gone and then you weren’t there.”

“Was already in pursuit of the little thief. Luckily he was a more ‘blend in and disappear’ type than a ‘run away’ type.”

“Is everything okay?” That was Madame Roussel. “Monsieur Louis?”

Louis squeezed Harry once more before pulling back enough to address her. “It’s getting better. Haz just almost got his bag taken but I managed to get it back.”

Her eyes turned towards Harry. “You’re okay now, Monsieur Harry?”

He sniffed and nodded. “Oui, Madame.”

Her eyes darted to Louis as if checking for confirmation.

“Do you think you’ll be good to go on the boat tour?” Louis asked. “I can take you back to the dorms if you’re too upset.”

And that was probably the worst thing Louis could say to him because for some reason it just triggered him into another set of tears. It took him by surprise, as well as Madame Roussel and Louis. “No, I’m good.”

“Haz, it’s okay. You don’t have to do this right now. I know it can be really scary and if you need to take a break that’s fine.”

“I agree with Monsieur Louis.” Madame Roussel said, cutting over Harry’s protest. She switched to French to speak with Louis and Harry ducked his head when he realized it was probably to talk privately. She and Louis talked for a few moments and then Louis was leading him away from the Eiffel Tower.

“Come on, mon petit chou, we’ll stop and get McDonalds. And I promise to take you on your own boat tour next week okay?” Harry just nodded, afraid that if he opened his mouth he’d burst into tears again. Louis kissed the top of his head. “Don’t worry, it’s just the first day. Tomorrow will be better.”

***

Harry curled up in Louis’ bed once they were back in the dorms. They’d stuffed their faces with French fast food and still made it back before their classmates. That just meant no one was going to be peeking their heads into their room and see Harry still sniffling from the day’s events.

“I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost everything, Lou.”

“But you didn’t.”

“Because of you,” Harry said, voice quiet.

“Yeah.”

“You’re a regular superhero.”

“I’d say I’m more an extraordinary superhero but I know what you mean.” Harry preened as Louis kissed his forehead. Cuddles and kisses from his best friend were the best. He was always glad that Louis was just as cuddly as him. “Just, in the future maybe keep your bag on, or hand it to me?” Harry nodded. “So are you gonna go to your bed or am I stuck sharing this tiny twin?”

“You like to cuddle with me.”

“I do, yes.”

“So shut up, and cuddle.”

“Alright but if you snore in my ear I reserve the right to push you off the bed.”

“Deal,” Harry said.

***

The next day was looking to be much better.

They had a lovely, early group breakfast at a café, full of buttery croissants and fresh eggs. They’d all had to order in French and Harry was pleased when he nailed his order. He was doubly pleased when Louis gave him a thumbs up before he started to banter back and forth with the waiter, Madame Roussel, and Andrew. Harry drifted through conversations with some of his fellow students. They were limited by their vocabulary to only be able to discuss the food and some of the day’s upcoming events. They were going to The Louvre after breakfast and then having a long lunch all together. After, they would head to the Arc de Triomphe by foot - which the older students were already muttering about. Apparently it tended to get crowded.

Harry was excited. He had woken up feeling refreshed and with the intention to put yesterday’s shenanigans behind him. While he didn’t regret going back to the dorm with Louis he didn’t want to make that a habit.

“Lou, there’s an exhibit on myths going on right now. Do you think Madame Roussel will let us go through it?”

“She's got a whole tour set up for us. We’re getting like all access passes because we have to do a presentation on a piece of art in the higher classes.”

“Oh? What art are you doing? A Monet?”

“Nah, I think I’ll go with the ever cliche _Mona Lisa_.”

Harry clapped his hands in delight. “That is here isn't it? I can't wait to see it!”

“Eh,” Louis started to say but he caught himself and instead slung his arm over Harry’s shoulder. “You'll absolutely love it.”

***

Harry, it turned out, didn't get a chance to love it. Between the tour and the crowd of people blocking the way he didn't get close enough to see half the things he wanted to, and was only able to see the Mona Lisa from a very far distance.

Even the myth exhibit he had been looking forward to seeing turned out to be a bit of a let down since they’d only popped in for a quick moment. Apparently trying to cram a tour of the entire museum into two hours meant making sacrifices. 

“Don’t worry,” he overheard one of the older students tell his classmates. “The Louvre isn’t the good museum anyway.”

It made him want to scream in frustration because _it was supposed to be._ He just wanted to enjoy the trip but so far every force in the world seemed to be trying to stop that.

Louis wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Harry wasn’t sure if it was because he’d heard what his classmate had said, or if he just noticed Harry needed it. Either was fine with Harry because the gesture gave him a measure of comfort.

***

That night Harry crawled into Louis’ bed again. Louis didn’t say anything, just pulled him close and kissed his forehead.

“Was it this underwhelming for you the first time you came?” He finally whispered into the dark.

He heard Louis let out a huff. “Some parts sure. Like the metro is just a tube when you break it down, the crowds can be tough, and the food… Paris isn’t the main hub for French food. Like obviously it’s amazing and delicious but it’s not Bordeaux for example.”

“Which you’ve never been to,” Harry recited because it was a fact that Louis whined about occasionally.

“Correct. So I understand. At face value it’s just a major city and seeing it with a tourist group like this can make it lose the charm but it will get better, I promise.”

Harry smiled and pressed a kiss to the hollow of Louis’ neck in thanks. He paused when he realized he could feel Louis’ heart rate pick up and a stillness fell over the room.

The thing was… Louis had been the first gay guy Harry had ever been friends with. His hometown was small and there wasn't a lot of variety, so Harry had been the only gay person in secondary. Coming to uni he’d befriended a couple of lesbians and a few other queer men but none of them really clicked with Harry. Louis had been the first, and so yeah, sometimes Harry’s heart went pitter patter because Louis was the first guy who he could see himself dating.

Not that it would happen of course. Louis was way out of his league: a third year, a decent football player, fluent in French, _moving_ to France, good looking. Harry had confidence but he was also realistic. He’d never catch Louis’ eye past being his best friend, which meant when things like this happened, it was better to ignore them. 

Hard to tell that to his erection though.

Having Louis’ toned body pressed up against his wasn't anything new and that meant he should be able to brush it off. They'd slept in the same bed before, hell they'd done it last night even, but there was something different tonight.

Harry kissed the hollow of Louis’ throat again, just to try and break the silence. 

It worked. Except… Louis let out a gasp, and then a moan. It was soft, barely even counted probably, but wow. It made Harry want to attack his throat with more kisses and maybe teeth just to get that sound louder, all high pitched and soft. 

Harry glanced up to check on Louis and was pleased to see he was watching him. He couldn't read his face in the dark but he wasn't trying to stop anything, yet. 

That was a good sign, right?

“We should get to sleep,” Louis said. It cut through the fog in Harry’s brain. He pulled away just enough so he felt himself reach the edge of the bed. “You don't have to leave,” Louis said.

Harry just nodded, and quickly rolled over so there wasn't a chance of Louis feeling his erection. Thank god he hadn't pressed himself against him or anything. That would have been mortifying. He settled into the bed with his back against Louis’ chest, and his bum pressed against his crotch. No erection. Harry didn't let it bother him.

***

Versailles meant an extra early morning but Harry knew it would be worth it. Louis did not seem so enthused, and okay, yeah the last couple days had been a little… underwhelming, but the whole trip couldn’t be bad. Harry refused to believe that. This was _Paris_. He was going to enjoy himself, dammit. And also, Louis had promised it would get better.

Madame Roussel had set them up on a tour once they arrived, and it included a history lesson, which she assured them they would be required to report on. Harry decided not to worry about that for now, focusing instead on the grand architecture on display. He kept lagging behind to take more and more photos but Louis was right there with him to guide him back to the group.

“Lou, this place is so beautiful,” Harry said once they left one of the bed chambers.

“Thinking about becoming French royalty?”

Harry let out a loud sigh. “You know I had the biggest crush on Prince William when I was younger?”

“Missed the train with that one. Probably for the better considering the early baldness.”

Harry stuck out his tongue. “I am not so shallow as to let a little baldness get between me and my prince.”

“Or your castle.”

“The castle is there to make up for the baldness.”

“Don’t let the crown hear you’re a dirty gold digger or it’ll be off with your head.”

“I can seek asylum with you right?”

“Oh yes, of course young Harold, I will betray my crown and country for you. Now please catch up with the rest of the tour group or they’ll throw us in the dungeons and you’ll never get your prince.”

Harry beamed, taking one more picture of the hallway before skipping to catch up with the group who was stopped in front of another doorway.

They had lunch as a class in the gardens. Madame Roussel had arranged for sandwiches and she’d left the tour a little early to go pick them up so they could have a picnic. Harry was completely in love with the entire concept.

They all ate little sandwiches, spoke minimal French, pretended to be varying degrees of royalty, and then once lunch was finished they were given free time to explore the gardens until three, when they would be attending the organ concert in the chapel. Harry took off with Louis to take more pictures, winding through the perfectly trimmed hedges until they were far away from where they had had lunch.

There were still people milling around, and some kids were kicking a football close to where Harry decided he wanted to shoot. Louis seemed entranced with the kids and Harry knew it was just a matter of finding the adult before Louis tried to join in for a few minutes. 

He hummed to himself as he shot picture after picture. The gardens were beautiful, and this trip alone was making up for the past two days.

He swung around, looking for Louis through the lens of his camera and he was pleased to see Louis was looking at him. The click of the shutter went off before he could think and another picture of Louis in France was added to his collection. He should probably make a whole folder of just Louis considering how many pictures he's taken of him in just these few days.

“Hey Lou,” Harry said, turning back to a beautiful flowering rose bush. 

“Tu veux sortir avec moi?”

Harry paused and turned to stare at Louis. “What?” He sort of recognized the words he had just said but the translation wasn’t coming to him.

Louis looked caught off guard, like he hadn’t realized what he had just said. And maybe he hadn’t meant to say it. Maybe it wasn’t anything important. “Would you like to go out with me? Like together. On a date.”

Harry fish mouthed for a moment, unable to believe what he’d just been asked. “But Madame wanted us to have dinner together?” He slammed his mouth closed because that wasn’t what he wanted to say at all. That wasn’t an answer in the slightest.

It seemed to calm Louis down though, his posture relaxing as he settled into the smile Harry had fallen in love with. “Haz, you know she loves me. Let me take you on an actual tour of Paris that doesn’t suck. It’ll be all authentic and tourist free, just like you’ve been wanting.”

Harry swallowed. That sounded lovely. He'd been looking forward to Louis’ guided tour of Paris since the beginning of this trip and now there seemed to be an added layer of it being romantic, which Harry was really okay with. One hundred percent. It was just…

“Why?” Louis’ face fell, apparently taking both of Harry’s responses together as rejection and Harry needed to fix that. “I mean yes I’d love to go on a date with you but _why_ are you asking me? I didn't even know you liked me.”

Louis laughed. It cut through the quiet of the garden, probably disturbing people trying to enjoy the peace and tranquility of the place but Harry didn't give a fuck about those people right now. Louis’ laugh was the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard.

“‘I don't even like you?’ Harry, I've had a giant, obvious crush on you since your first day of class. You think I just offer anyone advice about what they're reading? I mean I have opinions but I don't care to share them with just anyone.”

Now it was Harry’s turn to laugh, the sound bubbling up from his chest. “You like me,” he ended up gasping out. “You have a crush on me.” 

“Yes!” Louis said, voice confident. “You idiot. You think I call just anyone _mon petit chou_?”

“I thought it was just a nickname. You call plenty people ‘love’ and I know you aren't interested in them.”

Louis shook his head and stepped into Harry’s space, cupping his cheeks. “Only you. And seeing how you've handled these past couple days - and they've been shit, I freely admit that - it just reminded me why I like you so much. You're still willing to try and make this trip good for you when you could have easily let yourself be miserable. You find the good in everything, and that’s something I wouldn’t mind in my life. So will you go out with me?”

Harry beamed and leaned down to kiss Louis on the lips. He was only marginally disappointed when Louis dodged him so his lips landed on Louis’ cheek instead.

“Ah, ah, I have _plans_.”

“Plans?” Harry wasn't sure how he felt about that. “For our first kiss?”

Louis just grinned. “Trust me. Now come on. There are some more rose bushes on the other side of the garden if I remember correctly. Never enough pictures of flowers.”

Harry took his hand and followed him through the garden.

***

True to his word Louis managed to get them out of the big dinner Madame Roussel had planned for them and whisked Harry off to a restaurant that would “blow his socks off.” It didn't look like much, a bigger outdoor sitting area than indoor, with low lighting from the fairy lights and lanterns hanging above them. They'd traveled away from any part of the city Harry recognized and the streets weren't packed with many people, so it seemed to be filled with locals more than anything else. Harry could read most of the menu but he trusted Louis to order for them and he was not disappointed.

“This goats’ cheese is life changing,” Harry said as he sucked his thumb clean.

Louis slapped his hand away from his mouth. “Heathen. Stop trying to seduce me and eat the food like a civilized person.”

Harry smirked, feeling bold after their day together and so he popped his thumb back in his mouth. “But Louis,” he made sure to elongate Louis’ name, “It was dirty and I needed to clean up after myself.”

“Is that really the type of talk you think is gonna get me off?”

“I could say it in French?”

Louis’ face was unimpressed. “If you’re able to say that in French I’ll give you a blow job right here.”

Harry’s eyes went wide and heat shot through his stomach. 

“Mais Louis, il est… umm, dirte? Et je…,” he mumbled here, noting how Louis was just staring at him completely amused, “Apres moi?” He didn’t know how to save this so he did the only thing he could, he stuck his thumb back in his mouth and sucked on it.

Louis stared at him for a moment before bursting out laughing. “Wow, I am honestly impressed with how bad that was. _Dirte_? I mean, really, Haz?” He shook his head as he reached over and pulled Harry’s thumb from his mouth. 

Harry held his breath as Louis didn’t immediately let go of his thumb. Time seemed to suspend as he waited to see what Louis would do, and when Louis tugged his thumb closer to him - to _his mouth_ \- Harry’s heart stopped. He could feel Louis’ breath on the skin of his thumb and suddenly he had goosebumps.

Louis ducked his head down and kissed the tip of Harry’s thumb. He heard a loud gasp and it took him seeing Louis’ smirk to realize it had been him who had let it out.

“You alright, Haz?”

Harry shook his head as he answered, “Yeah, perfectly fine. Never better.” He didn’t dare break eye contact with Louis, not wanting the moment to be over.

Louis’ smirk only grew as he kissed Harry’s thumb again, this time taking even more of it into his mouth. Harry gasped again but he didn’t try to pull away. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” This time he didn’t even try to mask what he was doing as a kiss, he was giving Harry’s thumb mock head. That’s what was happening and Harry couldn’t handle it.

“You’re thinking… the duck looks really good?” Because Harry knew Louis was an asshole and even though that had been a loaded question if Harry immediately jumped to sex he would lose. He didn’t know what he’d lose, except foreplay, but he just knew he would lose. He had to play it cool for as long as possible. 

Louis hummed around his thumb before he hollowed his cheeks an obscene amount considering it was _just Harry’s thumb._

His cock twitched in his pants and Harry realized this was how he was going to die.

“Lou,” He whined.

And just like that Louis dropped his thumb, victorious. “Duck sounds amazing. The bread here is made in the bakery attached and it is divine, let me tell you.”

Louis’ change of subject had no bearing on Harry’s erection and he sat through the rest of dinner like that. Louis seemed to find it amusing, resting one hand on Harry’s thigh whenever he got the chance. 

They skipped dessert on Louis’ request, which made Harry a little sad because the tart list had sounded delicious. But he trusted Louis knew what he was doing.

“We’ll come back. This place has been here for like fifty years,” Louis assured him as they walked away. 

Harry followed along, taking in the vibe of the area they were in. Louis seemed very familiar with the neighborhood and it wasn't until he pointed out a building that Harry realized why.

“And that's where I stayed last summer.” He was pointing to a window at the very top of the building. It was only four floors high, but the window seemed tiny. “I was in someone's spare room, and it was tiny. You think your room at uni is small? This was just long enough for a bed, and wide enough for the bed, and a desk with minimal walking space. They said it had probably been a servant’s room when the building was first made.”

“You must have loved it,” Harry noted, looking at how fondly Louis seemed to be staring at the window. 

“I did. Wouldn't want to live in something like that permanently.”

“Yeah, not sure I'd be able to fit in when I come visit.”

Louis smiled at him before tugging him along the road. They fell into a companionable silence as they walked. Harry had no idea where they were going, all he recognized was that eventually they made it to La Seine and Louis stopped to get them dessert from a street vendor. The fried pastry and chocolate warmed Harry up as a breeze started to pick up.

He finally realized where they were headed when he looked up and saw the Eiffel Tower was a lot closer than he had been expecting. 

“Lou?” He asked and Louis just nodded.

“It's beautiful at night. Don't know why people bother coming in the morning truth be told. Here, you think we’re far enough back that if we take a selfie it'll be in the background?” He stopped and turned the around so the Eiffel Tower was to his back. 

Harry stared for only a moment before he sprung into action. They only had the street lights to help illuminate their faces but the Eiffel Tower showed up in the background of the picture just like Louis thought it would. They took three or four different pictures, both of them radiating with happiness. When Harry finally dropped his phone he wasn't surprised when Louis tugged him down and pulled him into a gentle kiss. 

It lit Harry up from the toes to his now very rosy cheeks. Louis’ lips were softer than he could have imagined and he tasted like the glass of wine they’d each had and chocolate. Harry loved it immediately and sunk into the kiss, making it deeper. Louis’ arms wrapped around him, keeping them together even when they broke the kiss.

“Bienvenue à Paris.”

***

“If I have to wear these ridiculous ears you are going all out and wearing the whole outfit,” Louis said as they waited their turn to take a picture at the entrance of Disneyland Paris.

The rest of the trip had flown by but Harry couldn't really complain. Being with Louis had made it incredibly memorable. Everything seemed brighter and better when they were together, and of course Louis’ tendency to interrupt tours and Harry’s awed staring with kisses helped. Now it was their final full day in Paris and after going to Notre Dame, a night tour on La Seine, and more museums than Harry could remember they were finally doing one of the things Harry had secretly been looking forward to the most.

They managed to snag an older man to take their picture, and Harry was pleased when it turned out as cheesy as he had hoped.

“Can I take these off now?” Louis asked, pointing to his Mickey Mouse hat.

“No! We have to wear them the whole day and match!” Harry said even as his Minnie Mouse hat was starting to get lopsided.

Louis rolled his eyes but didn't take off the hat. “This isn't going to work on any of the rides.”

“Oh, I hadn't thought about those.”

“That there is why I'm the brains of this operation.”

“I'm not the brawn. You can lift more than me.”

“The beauty then.”

Harry grinned and wrapped both his arms around Louis’ shoulder as they got in line for the first ride. “But how can I be that when you're so much more gorgeous than me.”

“Oh my god, get off me with those cheesy comebacks,” Louis said as he pretended to throw Harry off of him. Harry didn't budge because he could see the pleased blush on Louis’ cheeks from his words. “If I'd known you were this cheesy I never would have asked you out.”

“Lies,” Harry said. “You totally would because you love me, and you want to marry me, and have my babies!”

“Moving a little fast there, aren't we?”

“That's not a denial of what you want.”

Louis froze and then laughed. “Guess not. Dammit. Foiled again.”

“So does that mean I'm the brains, since you keep getting foiled? It fits really, since we’ve established you're the brawn and beauty.”

“Fine! You can be the brains but only because you asked nicely.”

Harry kissed his cheek before unwinding his arms from Louis’ shoulders. “Thank you. Now come on, we’re holding up the line!”

He pulled Louis forward with him, excited for what the day would bring.


End file.
